Chapter 46: This is Interesting

Serranos was a member of the Hero Party that defeated the Demon King.

She was a Mage who primarily used fire magic and was one of the core members of the group.

After the party disbanded, she served as a combat Mage during the Great Human War, distinguishing herself on the battlefield.

She briefly served as the Master of the Mage Tower and was a hero beyond reproach in the Teuton Kingdom, possessing both immense wealth and fame.

However… she was currently living as a recluse. Although she was still considered a national hero, she was gradually fading from the public’s interest.

She had three disciples.

All three had once been called geniuses of the Mage Tower. Unfortunately, all of them had become a source of heartache for her.

The first was incomplete. He became a genius after a chance encounter with a rare opportunity, but because he was incomplete, he had to leave the Mage Tower.

The second was a delinquent. He was a genius with extraordinary magical talent, but he carried too many emotional scars. After being expelled from the Mage Tower, he became a criminal.

The third was unsatisfied. She was also a genius, but she had to go into hiding with her master shortly after entering the tower when Serranos was ousted due to the incident involving the second disciple.

And Serranos was currently dying from the side effects of magic.

***

Clop, clop, clop, clop

Rattle, rattle

The sunset reflected off the luxurious, polished black surface of the carriage.

The carriage was named Caliber. It was a magnificent double carriage pulled by two horses.

Thor and Lux, stallions of the Goldship Andalusian breed, pulled the carriage bravely, charging forward like arrows.

Hyde, sitting in the driver’s seat, handled the carriage with practiced skill.

Even though it had only been a few hours since Hyde joined them, it felt as if he had already perfectly adjusted as a companion.

‘When traveling as a Monk, he must have traveled with others often…’

The carriage moved smoothly forward with the golden twilight at its back.

The beautiful scenery of the Otherworld unfolded like a panorama.

Since the carriage was so large, sitting in it with only Slot made me feel like I had become a noble.

A poetic sentiment naturally rose within me.

‘My Caliber, my soulmate, named Soul Caliber.’

As I was lost in these idle thoughts, Slot asked me a question.

“Organization Leader, you said it takes two days to reach Tanne, right?”

“Yeah. Today, we’ll travel to the base camp marked on the map and set up camp. Tomorrow, we’ll have lunch at Mistrail Village and then head out; we should arrive in Tanne by evening. We have an appointment to meet Lady Serranos at noon the day after.”

Because I had obtained a great carriage through the Maber Startup, the schedule had become quite relaxed.

“Anyway, I was quite surprised. To think that the person we are meeting is Lady Serranos…”

“Do you know Lady Serranos well?”

“Of course. She is very famous, after all.”

Lady Serranos was a member of the Hero Party that faced the Demon King.

Come to think of it, she had appeared in Sten’s drawings as well. I remembered her as a very beautiful woman with red hair.

‘First that old man… no, Sir Rockefeller, and now Lady Serranos. I’ve already formed connections with two of the Eight Heroes…!’

She was one of the eight heroes who defeated the Demon King and a combat Mage of the Teuton Kingdom who played an active role in the era of humans.

One of the most intense early conflicts of that era was the war between my nation, the Teuton Kingdom, and the Jovia Principality.

The representatives of the two nations were none other than the two heroes known as the Twins of Lightning, who had helped defeat the Demon race.

Contrary to the expectation that the Teuton Kingdom would overwhelm the opposition, the military strength of the Jovia Principality was formidable, pushing the Teuton Kingdom to the brink of becoming a vassal state.

At that time, she became a hero and joined the Sharon Knights.

‘But why a knight order? Since there are mages, wouldn’t Sharon Army be more appropriate?’

I suppose knight orders didn’t only consist of knights.

‘Ah… there are also orders like the Phoenix Knights, which are composed entirely of mages.’

During the war, she was one of the few high-ranking mages in the country.

When the kingdom fell into crisis, she joined the fray and contributed to a great victory in the Battle of the Three Valleys, which changed the landscape of the war between the Teuton Kingdom and the Jovia Principality.

This battle is still sung as a heroic epic by bards today.

She had been a 5th Circle Mage, but she reached enlightenment just before the battle and became a 6th Circle Mage.

Her greatest contribution was creating a veil of fire using Fire Field in the “Last Valley Battle” to block the enemy’s retreat.

Since then, she had been known by the alias “Flame of Sharon.”

Come to think of it, the common language of this Otherworld was similar to English.

The reason I occasionally felt this world was strange was because it shared many similar cultures and customs with Earth, despite being different.

Using a 365-day calendar or having the exact same time system were just some of the many similarities.

Due to the dramatic performance of the Sharon Knights, the Jovia Principality was pushed back to the border.

Eventually, a tense standoff continued at the border.

For the next five years, only small-scale skirmishes occurred rather than full-scale war.

‘Other countries were fighting intense wars, though…’

After five years, the two nations declared an end to the war through a treaty without any further major battles.

I didn’t know much about what happened to Lady Serranos after that, but I was able to hear the rest of the story through Slot.

“I heard that while the standoff was ongoing after the five-year war, she left the knights and became the Master of the Mage Tower. As the Tower Master, she reached the mature stage of the 6th Circle and became the most respected Mage. I don’t know the exact details of what happened after that, but I heard she resigned from the position in disgrace due to an issue with her disciples. Almost no one knew her whereabouts after that, but now we’re going to meet her.”

A hint of pity lingered in Slot’s voice.

“Oh, by the way, Organization Leader. Did you know? They say you can see the Mage Tower from Mistrail Village, where we’re stopping tomorrow.”

The Mage Tower!

When I was on Earth, it was a common trope that frequently appeared alongside mages.

In romance fantasy stories, the Master of the Mage Tower often appeared as the male lead or a sub-male lead.

Sometimes it was called the Ivory Tower.

The Mage Tower was an institution that trained mages. It was said that there were two Mage Towers in the Teuton Kingdom.

Rather than being a formal magic school like Harry Father, it felt more like a graduate school where a master raised disciples through their own research and apprenticeship.

After all, mages were a breed more occupied with satisfying their own curiosity than raising disciples.

To them, a disciple was an assistant, a servant, and sometimes like their own child.

“Organization Leader, the Mage Tower is famous as a tourist destination you must visit before you die. However, they say you can’t actually go inside. Even so, many people visit the village just to look at the exterior.”

It seemed this Otherworld also had “must-see” tourist attractions. I definitely wanted to see the Mage Tower at least once.

“Let’s make sure to go see the Mage Tower tomorrow.”

“I really made the right choice joining the Unicorn Company.”

Slot and I shared a look of determination.

If we’re just looking from afar, they won’t charge for tickets, right?

***

“Mages, huh… Slot, have you ever seen a Mage?”

“Yes. I’ve seen a few. The place where I stayed was a place mages frequently visited.”

“What kind of place was it?”

When I asked, Slot laughed awkwardly and spoke.

“It’s a secret.”

It seemed he had a story he couldn’t share.

“Then you must have seen them shooting fire from their hands or firing ice.”

“Of course. I’ve even seen them flying on brooms.”

As expected, are mages the strongest in this Otherworld?

“Mages… they must be incredibly strong, right?”

My comment piqued Slot’s competitive spirit.

Sometimes, knights and mages are seen as opposites, representing the pinnacle of close-quarters and long-range combat power.

“But in a one-on-one fight, it’s hard for a Mage to beat a knight.”

“Really?”

Slot was kind, but he showed his competitive side every now and then.

“Historically, there have been many cases where knights and mages clashed. Since mages take a long time to cast spells, knights who use Aura Blades have always won in battle.”

‘Ann, that seems like a knight-biased opinion?’

“Aura Blade? Isn’t that Sword Master level?”

“Yes, that’s right. Sword Masters. They are those who have reached the ultimate state of the sword through their own enlightenment. It’s said that with an Aura Blade, they can even cut through magic.”

“Cut through magic?”

“When a Sword Master reaches maturity, they can cut and slash through anything.”

“Slot, are you a Sword Master?”

Seeing him use Sword Qi before, wasn’t there a possibility? Slot waved his hands in surprise.

“Absolutely… not. I’m nowhere near that level yet. Of course, as a knight and a swordsman, I do aim to become a Sword Master.”

It seemed Slot hadn’t reached the level of a Sword Master yet.

“Are there many Sword Masters on the continent?”

“I believe there are over a hundred in this era. If one exceeds the limit of a Sword Master, then a Grand—”

Yap!

“Huh… what’s that sound…?”

Hyde spoke from the driver’s seat.

“William. We have a bit of a problem… You should come out. Kobolds have appeared…”

“Kobolds?”

“They probably smelled the horses. Maybe there’s a mine nearby?”

Kobolds?

Finally, I had encountered a Magic Beast for the first time in the Otherworld.

Kobolds were familiar to me. They were a race with a short stature and an appearance resembling reptiles. They had pointed ears, long tails, and skin covered in scales.

I knew them to be monsters that lived in groups and worshipped dragons.

The reason I was so calm about meeting a monster for the first time in this world was because Kobolds were weak.

In games, they were usually monsters found in the lowest-level dungeons or early adventures, meaning they could be easily defeated.

Furthermore, the two wings of our Unicorn Mercenary Company were S-rank mercenaries.

The moment those two stepped forward, the situation would be handled in an instant.

“I’ll handle them.”

Slot drew his sword and prepared for battle.

“I want to watch too.”

“William, it’s not ‘I want to watch too,’ you have to fight as well. You’re the leader of the Unicorn Mercenary Company.”

Come to think of it, Hyde didn’t know my true strength yet.

He didn’t still mistakenly think I was incredibly strong, did he?

I picked up my wooden training sword.

“Come to think of it, you were using a wooden sword last time too, weren’t you?” Hyde asked.

“Actually, I’m a tactical character. My swordsmanship is… about the level of an average person…”

I confessed the truth to Hyde.

“I thought you were incredibly strong, but you weren’t?”

Hyde stepped down from the carriage as if it wasn’t a big deal.

It seemed the Kobolds had attacked because a single carriage was passing through a deserted path without an escort…

I wondered if they had something up their sleeves, as their numbers exceeded twenty.

“Anyway, this is interesting. For Kobolds to form a group like this and attack a carriage…”

Human-wave tactics. No, Kobold-wave tactics.

It meant that with so many of them, they wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

I had let my guard down because they were just weak Kobolds, but their numbers were not to be underestimated.

‘Ugh… gross.’

Seeing the pack of Kobolds in person made it sink in that this was indeed another world.

Short stature, reptilian eyes, reddish skin, and saliva dripping from their protruding mouths.

Yap! Yap!

Chit! Chit!

It was a strange language I couldn’t understand.

“Organization Leader, Kobolds are weak individually, but they are troublesome Magic Beasts when they attack in a pack. Hyde and I will attack, so please protect Thor and Lux.”

In my first battle against Magic Beasts, I was assigned the task of guarding the carriage and the horses.